7 Facts About Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling 7 Facts About Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling Everything You Wanted to Know About Michelangelo's Famous Frescoes Paintings Javier Sánchez / Getty Images Share By Shelley Esaak Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the most influential artworks of all time and a foundational work of Renaissance Art. Painted directly on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the masterpiece depicts key scenes from the Book of Genesis. The complex narratives and skillfully painted human figures stunned viewers when the painting was first unveiled to the public in 1512 and continues to impress the thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world who visit the Chapel every day. Below are seven essential facts about the Sistine Chapel ceiling and its creation. 1. The Paintings Were Commissioned by Pope Julius II In 1508, Pope Julius II (also known as Giulio II and "Il papa terribile"), asked Michelangelo to paint Sistine Chapel's ceiling. Julius was determined that Rome should be rebuilt to its former glory, and had embarked on a vigorous campaign achieve the ambitious task.

He felt that such artistic splendor would not only add luster to his own name, but also serve to supersede anything that Pope Alexander VI (a Borgia, and Julius' rival) had accomplished. continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance 2. Michelangelo Painted Over 5,000 Square Feet of Frescoes The ceiling measures about 40 meters (131 feet) long by 13 meters (43 feet) wide. Although these numbers are rounded, they demonstrate the enormous scale of this nontraditional canvas. In fact, Michelangelo painted well over 5,000 square feet of frescoes. 3. The Panels Depict More Than Just Scenes From the Book of Genesis The ceilings well-known central panels depict scenes from the Book of Genesis , from the Creation to the Fall to shortly after Noah's deluge. Adjacent to each of these scenes on either side, however, are immense portraits of prophets and sibyls who foretold the coming of the Messiah. Along the bottoms of these run spandrels and lunettes containing the ancestors of Jesus and stories of tragedy in ancient Israel. Scattered throughout are smaller figures, cherubs and ignudi (nudes).

All told, there are more than 300 painted figures on the ceiling. 4. Michelangelo Was A Sculptor, Not A Painter Michelangelo thought of himself as a sculptor and preferred working with marble to almost any other material. Prior to the ceiling frescoes , the only painting he'd done was during his brief stint as a student in Ghirlandaio's workshop. Julius, however, was adamant that Michelangelo — and no other — should paint the Chapel's ceiling. To convince him, Julius offered as a reward to Michelangelo the wildly lucrative commission of sculpting 40 massive figures for his tomb, a project that appealed much more to Michelangelo given his artistic style. 5. The Paintings Took Four Years to Finish It took Michelangelo a little over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512, to finish the paintings. Michelangelo had never painted frescoes before and was learning the craft as he worked. What's more, he chose to work in buon fresco, the most difficult method, and one normally reserved for true masters.

He also had to learn some wickedly hard techniques in perspective, namely painting figures on curved surfaces that appear "correct" when viewed from nearly 60 feet below. The work suffered numerous other setbacks, including mold and miserable, damp weather that disallowed plaster curing. The project was further stalled when Julius left to wage war and again when he fell ill. The ceiling project, and any hope Michelangelo had of being paid, were frequently in jeopardy while Julius was absent or near death. 6. Michelangelo Didn't Really Paint Lying Down Although the classic film The Agony and the Ecstacy, depicts Michelangelo (played by Charlton Heston) painting the frescoes on his back, the real Michelangelo didn't work in this position. Instead, he conceived and had constructed a unique scaffolding system sturdy enough to hold workers and materials and high enough that Mass could still be celebrated below. The scaffolding curved at its top, mimicking the curvature of the ceiling's vault. Michelangelo often had to bend backward and paint over his head — an awkward position that caused permanent damage to his vision. 7. Michelangelo Had Assistants Michelangelo gets, and deserves, credit for the entire project. The complete design was his.

The sketches and cartoons for the frescoes were all of his hand, and he executed the vast bulk of the actual painting by himself. However, the vision of Michelangelo toiling away, a solitary figure in a vacant chapel, isn't entirely accurate. He needed many assistants if only to mix his paints, scramble up and down ladders, and prepare the day's plaster (a nasty business). Occasionally, a talented assistant might be entrusted with a patch of sky, a bit of landscape, or a figure so small and minor it is barely discernable from below. All of these were worked from his cartoons, however, and the temperamental Michelangelo hired and fired these assistants on such a regular basis that none of them could claim credit for any part of the ceiling. Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel Printer Friendly Version >>> Born in 1475, Michelangelo's artistic talent revealed itself early in his life, often to his family's dismay. His precocious drawings would occasionally elicit beatings from his father who wished to persuade the youth to follow a more honorable and lucrative profession than that of an artist.

Fortunately, Michelangelo's stubborn refusal to abandon his talent persuaded his father to apprentice him to a Florentine artist at age fourteen. Mankind was awarded a creative talent whose genius was recognized not only in his own time, but in the generations to follow. Michelangelo's first love was sculpture. Among his early works, the Pieta commissioned by the Vatican and David commissioned by the city of Florence proclaimed his unprecedented ability to transform marble from a slab of stone to a brilliant evocation of Michelangelo from a contemporary portrait the human experience. By 1508 the artistic community of Rome (including the painter Raphael and Donato Bramante, architect of St. Peters) felt so threatened by Michelangelo's mercurial rise to fame that they devised a plot intended to discredit and degrade the young artist. They would persuade Pope Julius II to have Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. They were convinced that the young sculptor, who had never attempted a fresco before, would inevitably fail or, at the very least, become embroiled in a time consuming effort that would remove him from the competition for years. Michelangelo at first refused, protesting that he was a sculptor, not a painter.

However, Pope Julius insisted and finally prevailed. It was arduous work that required the artist to constantly paint while lying on his back atop a scaffold that raised him to within inches of the ceiling. However, Michelangelo not only overcame these obstacles, but after four years, revealed a masterpiece. A true genius Ascanio Condivi was one of Michelangelo's students. He was not a particularly successful artist, but he did have an intimacy with his tutor that allowed him to write a compelling biography that was published in 1553. He describes Michelangelo's experience during the four-year ordeal: ADVERTISMENT "While he was painting, Pope Julius often wanted to go and inspect the work; he would climb up by a ladder and Michelangelo would hold out a hand to him to help him up onto the scaffolding. And, being one who was by nature impetuous and impatient of waiting, as soon as the work was half done, that is from the door to midway on the vault, he wanted Michelangelo to uncover it while it was still incomplete and had not received the last touches.

The opinion and the expectation which everyone had of Michelangelo brought all of Rome to see this thing, and the pope also went there before the dust raised by the dismantling of the scaffold had settled. After this work, when Raphael had seen the new and wonderful manner of painting, as he had a remarkable gift for imitation, he sought through Bramante to paint the rest himself. This greatly disturbed Michelangelo, and before Pope Julius he gravely protested the wrong which Bramante was doing him; and in Bramante's presence he complained to the pope, unfolding to him all the persecutions he had received from Bramante; and next he exposed many of his deficiencies, and mainly that, in demolishing the old St. Peter's, Bramante was pulling down those marvelous columns which were in that temple, with no regard or concern for their being broken to pieces, when he could lower them gently and preserve them intact; and he explained that it was easy to put one brick on top of another, but that to make such a column was extremely difficult, and many other things which need not be told, so that, when the pope had heard of these derelictions, he wanted Michelangelo to continue, conferring upon him more favors than ever.

He finished this entire work in twenty months, without any help whatever, not even someone to grind his colors for him. It is true that I have heard him say that it is not finished as he would have wanted, as he was hampered by the urgency of the pope, who asked him one day when he would finish that chapel, and when Michelangelo answered, 'When I can,' the pope, enraged, retorted, 'You want me to have you thrown off the scaffolding.' Hearing this, Michelangelo said to himself, 'You shall not have me thrown off,' and he removed himself and had the scaffolding taken down, and on All Saints' Day he revealed the work, which the pope, who went to the chapel that day, saw with immense satisfaction, and all Rome admired it and crowded to see it. Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel What was lacking was the retouching of the work a secco with ultramarine and in a few places with gold, to give it a richer appearance.

Julius, when the heat of his enthusiasm had subsided, really wanted Michelangelo to furnish these touches; but, when Michelangelo thought about the trouble it would give him to reassemble the scaffolding, he answered that what was lacking was nothing of importance. 'It really ought to be retouched with gold,' answered the pope, to whom Michelangelo responded with the familiarity which was his way with His Holiness, 'I do not see that men wear gold.' The pope said, 'It will look poor' Michelangelo rejoined, 'Those who are depicted there, they were poor too.' So he remarked in jest, and so the work has remained. For this work and for all his expenses, Michelangelo received three thousand ducats, of which he was obliged to spend about twenty or twenty-five on colors, according to what I have heard him say. After he had accomplished this work, because he had spent such a long time painting with his eyes looking up at the vault, Michelangelo then could not see much when he looked down; so that, if he had to read a letter or other detailed things, he had to hold them with his arms up over his head.

Nonetheless, after a while, he gradually grew accustomed to reading again with his eyes looking down. From this we may conceive how great were the attention and diligence with which he did this work." References: Condivi's account appears in: Condivi, Ascanio, The Life of Michelangelo, translated by Alice Wohl (1976); Boorstin, Daniel, The Creators (1992); Janson, W.H., History of Art (1977). How To Cite This Article: "Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel," EyeWitness to History, (2005). Michelangelo and Pope Julius II - Michelangelo Biography | HowStuffWorks Michelangelo and Pope Julius II Prev Next The Creation of Man detail, Sistine ceiling (1508 - 1512). Pope Julius II commissioned the frescoes for the Sistine Chapel. The Creation of Man is one of the most overwhelming visions in the history of art. In 1505, shortly after the David was placed at the main entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, Michelangelo was called to Rome by Pope Julius II .

The Warrior Pope had been elected to the papal seat in 1503. Throughout his spectacular ten-year reign, he devoted himself to expelling foreigners, redefining borders, unifying the papal states, and creating a new Rome in accordance with his conception of High Renaissance splendor. It was due in part to the relentless drive of this outrageous pontiff that the High Renaissance progressed in Rome with more urgency and grandeur than it did in Florence. In this dynamic atmosphere, Michelangelo entered into the service of his first papal patron. Commissioned by Julius II to create a tomb for him of unparalleled power and grandeur, Michelangelo could not have foreseen that the tomb would become a forty-year nightmare. Up Next The Dead Artists Quiz Abandoning all other projects, Michelangelo created several drawings for the structure. The final version had a structure three stories high and included forty sculptures . The artist endured a draining year finding and moving marble from Carrara, but the Pope stopped work on the tomb. This might have been due to a shortage of funds, though no proof of that exists today. In a rage, Michelangelo retreated to Florence, where he resumed work on other commissions.

But he never forgot the dismissive and discourteous manner in which he had been treated by Julius II. Though Julius II was one of Michelangelo's most important patrons, the relationship between the two men was difficult. The explosive and unyielding artist was ferocious in his dealings with his patrons, both papal and secular, and he regarded them with neither fear nor favor. In the end, however, the two men found common ground in the basic respect each had for the other: For Michelangelo, the respect was founded on his deeply held religious beliefs and his reverence for the will of the church. For the Pope, it stemmed from his admiration for the incomparable genius of the Florentine master. History would again bind the two men together when, in 1508, Michelangelo was called to Rome by Julius II. The artist reluctantly accepted the commission to create frescoes for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel . What began as Julius II's plan for paintings of the twelve apostles gave way to disagreements about the design, content, and scale of the project.

Michelangelo, eventually given free rein, enlarged the project to include more than 300 figures, including prophets and sibyls and ignudi (nude figures), decorative medallions, thirteen scenes from the Old Testament, and sixteen lunettes of the ancestry of Christ. Aided by theological advisor Marco Vigerio, a fellow Florentine and a cardinal trusted by the Pope, and several laborers, the artist began work on the ceiling. He was unhappy, however, with how the work was progressing. By the end of 1508, he had fired all his assistants, removed what little work had been done, and began the difficult process on his own. Michelangelo had never considered himself a painter, and over the next three years he grew increasingly resentful of the project. Through his faith, however, he remained dedicated to its sacred vision. It was only as his work on the ceiling was almost completed that Michelangelo, under pressure from the Pope and having worked himself to exhaustion, no longer regretted that the frescoes had been forced upon him. At a deeper level, the artist realized that this single project had allowed him to show his genius not only in painting but also in architecture and sculpture.

The architect had skillfully divided the space to its most effective use, the sculptor had employed his understanding of the expressive power of the human body. And the painter had brought to life, through color, line, and compositional relationships, the majestic works of the Creator. The ceiling was unveiled in October 1512, but the artist was hardly able to celebrate his triumph. Only four months later, Pope Julius II died, and Michelangelo once again retreated to Florence. For four decades, and under constant harassment from the Pope's heirs, Michelangelo worked on Julius II's tomb. Though the project was continually interrupted, Michelangelo's genius was not wasted, for elements from his early plans for the tomb found their way into his massive frescoes on the Sistine ceiling. In turn, his work on the ceiling would serve as inspiration for the daring sculptural style that would characterize the final version of the tomb. The plans for the monument marked the first time Michelangelo combined architecture and sculpted figures. Finally, in 1545, the tomb was completed on a reduced scale with the powerful Moses serving as a commanding centerpiece. Michelangelo's conflicts were not limited to his relationship with Pope Julius II.

See the next section of this article for more about his conflicts with politics and religion. To learn more about Michelangelo, art history, and other famous artists, see: Michelangelo is Commissioned to Paint the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel | World History Project 1508 Michelangelo is Commissioned to Paint the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina) is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. Its fame rests on its architecture, evocative of Solomon's Temple of the Old Testament and on its decoration which has been frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. He resented the commission, and believed his work only served the Pope's need for grandeur. However, today the ceiling, and especially The Last Judgement, are widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievements in painting.

The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored the old Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480. During this period a team of painters that included Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio created a series of frescoed panels depicting the life of Moses and the life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l’oeil drapery below. These paintings were completed in 1482, and on August 15, 1483, Sixtus IV consecrated the first mass in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption. Since the time of Sixtus IV, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected.

Sistine Chapel: Facts, History & Visitor Information Sistine Chapel: Facts, History & Visitor Information By Jessie Szalay, LiveScience Contributor | October 30, 2013 12:32am ET MORE 'The Creation of Adam' is one of the nine ceiling panels in the Sistine Chapel depicting scenes from the book of Genesis. The Sistine Chapel is a large chapel in the Vatican City. It is renowned for its Renaissance art, especially the ceiling painted by Michelangelo, and attracts more than 5 million visitors each year. History The Sistine Chapel stands on the foundation of an older chapel called the Capella Magna. In 1477, Pope Sixtus IV instigated a rebuilding of the chapel, which was then named for him. The chapel is 40.23 meters long, 13.40 meters wide, and 20.70 meters high (about 132 by 44 by 68 feet) — reputedly, the dimensions of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in A.D. 70. The chapel’s exterior is simple and unassuming, giving little hint to the splendid decoration inside.

Pope Sixtus IV commissioned celebrated painters, including Botticelli and Rosselli, to decorate the chapel. At this point, the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling was painted like a simple blue sky with stars. In 1503, a new pope, Julius II, decided to change some of the Sistine Chapel's decoration. He commanded artist Michelangelo to do it. Michelangelo balked, because he considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, and he was hard at work sculpting the king’s tomb. But Pope Julius insisted, and Michelangelo began work on his famous frescoed ceiling in 1508. He worked for four years. It was so physically taxing that it permanently damaged his eyesight. More than 20 years later, Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint the giant fresco "The Last Judgment" behind the altar. The artist, then in his 60s, painted it from 1536 to 1541.

Michelangelo’s paintings Ceiling At the highest part of the ceiling, Michelangelo depicted nine scenes from Genesis, including "The Separation of Light From Darkness" at the altar end of the chapel to "The Drunkenness of Noah" at the other end. The most famous panels are "The Creation of Adam" and "The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from Paradise." Images of prophets and pagan sibyls surround the panels, and twisting (and originally controversial) male nudes decorate the corners. Michelangelo painted a fresco titled 'The Last Judgment' on the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel. Credit: byggam.se Shutterstock The Last Judgment This fresco depicts the second coming of Christ, who is judging all mankind. The blessed are on the right and heading to heaven, while the damned are on the left and being sent to hell and tortured by demons. Major Biblical and Catholic characters appear in the scene, including Eve and several saints. Secret images In 1990, some physicians suggestedthat the flying-seat shape and figure of God in "The Creation of Adam" makes up an anatomically correct image of the human brain.

In 2010, it was asserted that "The Separation of Light From Darkness" panel contains a human brain stem . Other theorists have suggested that Michelangelo depicted kidney imagery on the ceiling. As a sculptor, Michelangelo was fascinated by the human form. He studied cadavers to get a better sense of anatomy, and would have been familiar with the human brain. Painting the Sistine Chapel was an exhausting task, and Michelangelo’s relationship with the Catholic Church became strained doing it. Perhaps to depict his unhappiness, he hid two miserable-looking self-portraits in "The Last Judgment."He painted his deceased face on Holofernes’ severed head and his ghoulish visage on Saint Bartholomew’s flayed skin. Restoration efforts A serious restoration of the Sistine Chapel began in 1980. Restorers spent 14 years reattaching fresco and cleaning it. They also removed some of the “modesty drapes” that had been added to Michelangelo’s work. The restoration was extremely controversial. Some critics claim that the restoration removed an intentional second layer of paint, and that Michelangelo had intentionally used darker, more shadowy hues to give the figures depth.

Others say that the restoration was essential for keeping the masterpiece intact and reviving the brilliancy of Michelangelo’s palette. Papal use The chapel is more than an artistic masterpiece; it is a place of crucial religious activity. Since 1492, the chapel has been the site where the College of Cardinals gathers to elect a new pope. The chapel has a special chimney that is used to broadcast the cardinals’ voting status. White smoke indicates that a new pope has been elected, while black smoke signals that no candidate has received a two-thirds majority. An aerial view of the Sistine Chapel. 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel - History in the Headlines 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel November 1, 2012 By Jennie Cohen Share What does it mean to be a "Renaissance Man"? Get the history of the Renaissance as told by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis. Share this: 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel Author 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel URL Google On November 1, 1512, the majestic ceiling frescoes adorning Rome’s Sistine Chapel were unveiled to the public.

Painted by a rising young sculptor named Michelangelo, they remain one of the Italian Renaissance’s most iconic masterpieces, with 5 million neck-craning tourists peering at their beauty each year. Below, check out seven surprising facts about the famous ceiling and the artist who painted it. 1. Michelangelo wanted nothing to do with the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. In 1508, 33-year-old Michelangelo was hard at work on Pope Julius II’s marble tomb, a relatively obscure piece now located in Rome’s San Pietro in Vincoli church. When Julius asked the esteemed artist to switch gears and decorate the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, Michelangelo balked. For one thing, he considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter, and he had no experience whatsoever with frescoes. He also had his heart set on finishing the tomb, even as funding for the project dwindled. Nevertheless, Michelangelo reluctantly accepted the commission, spending four years of his life perched on scaffolding with his brush in hand. He would return intermittently to Julius’ monumental tomb over the next few decades. The Sistine Chapel ceiling’s most famous panel, entitled “The Creation of Adam.” 2.

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in a standing position. When they picture Michelangelo creating his legendary frescoes, most people assume he was lying down. But in fact, the artist and his assistants used wooden scaffolds that allowed them to stand upright and reach above their heads. Michelangelo himself designed the unique system of platforms, which were attached to the walls with brackets. The impression that Michelangelo painted on his back might come from the 1965 film “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” in which Charlton Heston portrayed the genius behind the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. Sections of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. 3. Working on the Sistine Chapel was so unpleasant that Michelangelo wrote a poem about his misery. In 1509, an increasingly uncomfortable Michelangelo described the physical strain of the Sistine Chapel project to his friend Giovanni da Pistoia. “I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture,” he wrote in a poem that was surely somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

He went on to complain that his “stomach’s squashed under my chin,” that his “face makes a fine floor for droppings,” that his “skin hangs loose below me” and that his “spine’s all knotted from folding myself over.” He ended with an affirmation that he shouldn’t have changed his day job: “I am not in the right place—I am not a painter.” 4. Michelangelo’s masterpiece has proven highly resilient. The Sistine Chapel’s frescoed ceiling has held up remarkably well in the five centuries since its completion. Only one small component is missing: part of the sky in the panel depicting Noah’s escape from the great biblical flood. The section of painted plaster fell to the floor and shattered following an explosion at a nearby gunpowder depot in 1797. Despite the ceiling’s apparent hardiness, experts worry that foot traffic from the millions of people who visit the Sistine Chapel each year continues to pose a serious threat. 5. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel art was touched up—and stripped down—in the 1980s and 1990s.

Between 1980 and 1999, experts restored selected artwork in the Sistine Chapel, including Michelangelo’s ceiling and his famed fresco known as “The Last Judgment,” which he created in his later years. Specialists meticulously dissolved layers of grime, soot and deposits, substantially brightening the colors of the centuries-old paintings. The restoration also undid the work of Pope Pius IV, who ordered the placement of fig leaves and loincloths on Michelangelo’s nudes during the 1560s. 6. The Sistine Chapel ceiling’s most famous panel might depict a human brain. In the section entitled “The Creation of Adam,” figures representing God and Adam reach for each other with their arms outstretched. Their almost-touching fingers are one of the world’s most recognizable and widely replicated images. Some theorists think the scene also contains the unmistakable outline of a human brain, formed by the angels and robes surrounding God. According to Frank Lynn Meshberger, a doctor who pioneered this hypothesis, Michelangelo meant to evoke God’s bestowal of intellegence on the first human. 7. New popes are elected in the Sistine Chapel.

Built in the 1470s under Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name, the Sistine Chapel is more than just Vatican City’s most popular tourist destination. In fact, it serves a crucial religious function. Beginning in 1492, the simple brick building has hosted numerous papal conclaves, during which cardinals gather to vote on a new pope. A special chimney in the roof of the chapel broadcasts the conclave’s results, with white smoke indicating the election of a pope and black smoke signaling that no candidate has yet received a two-thirds majority. Tags Sistine Chapel in Vatican City– Vatican 3D Virtual Tours The Sistine Chapel 3D Site of the Papal Conclave and Michelangelo’s famous frescoes Visit the site of the Papal Conclave and Michelangelo’s famous ceiling and Last Judgment painting from home! Take a 3D virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City as never seen before! Follow the guided tour or navigate yourself and explore one of the holiest sites in Catholicism.

Explore & learn about the story of the Sistine Chapel – it’s function as the Papal Conclave where the Pope s elected and the incredible artwork which adorns the Sistine Chapel: The Conclave —Where the College of Cardinals adjourns and elects the new pope. The Last Judgment —Michelangelo’s most famous frescoes which depicts the apocalypse and judgment by God and Jesus Christ. The Sistine Chapel ceiling and walls renowned frescoes—Depicting biblical stories of Jesus, Moses and the creation. Walk around freely, learn and experience this site which is fundamental in human history, art, and faith. Sistine Chapel in Vatican City Background & History There is no doubt that Sistine Chapel is the most known chapel in the entire Vatican City. The chapel is well known for its architecture and the numerous decorations it bears. This chapel was designed and built by architects Michelangelo, Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Pinturicchio, among others. Ever since its establishment on the 15th August 1483 by Pope Sixtus IV, the Sistine Chapel has continued to be used for both religious and official papal activities.

The construction of the Sistine Chapel begun in 1473 and was completed and opened to the public later on. Today, the Sistine Chapel is the place of the Papal Conclave - the process of electing a new Pope The Sistine Chapel serves as the Papal conclave where the new pope is elected. During the election of a new Pope, a chimney is installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, through which smoke arises as a signal. When black smoke rises from the chimney, it signals that a new Pope has been elected by the College of Cardinals. White smoke is created by burning the white ballot papers of the Conclave and black smoke is achieved by burning the Papal ballots with a substance that gives the smoke its black color. Once a new Pope has been elected, he presents himself to the public gathered at St. Peter’s Square by coming out on to the famous Vatican Papal porch. The new Pope is then give his new name. The Papal election and post-election activities all take place in the Sistine Chapel – art and architecture The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican in general, are great representations and treasurers of high and renowned art and architecture from the Renaissance period.

Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512. Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes of the stories of Genesis, became world famous for their detail and talent. The Sistine Chapel ceiling is approximately 40 meters long and 13 meters wide. Some of the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel include: the large fresco of The Last Judgment which was also painted by Michelangelo almost 20 years later. The Last Judgment is located on the sanctuary wall over the altar. Other frescoes in the Sistine Chapel’s walls were created by different renowned painters such as Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Pietro Perugino. In addition in the past there was a set of large tapestries which were created by Raphael and that depicted nine scenes from the New Testament such as the Acts of St. Peter and St. Paul. These were commissioned by Pope Leo X. The tapestries designed by Raphael were displayed for the first time in the Sistine Chapel In 1519.

Every part of the Sistine Chapel is decorated and painted with astonishing works of art. are the south wall, the Last Judgment, the ceiling and north wall. The entrance wall, south, north and west walls as well as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are all adorned with frescoes, artifacts, figures and images which tell the stories of the bible – old and new testaments. Among others, you can see the story of , God bestowing life in man, the story of Adam and Eve, the Drunkenness of Noah the ancestors of Christ and more. Visiting the Sistine Chapel should be in everyone’s reach – to see some of the finest artwork humanity has ever produced and to see one of the holiest places in the world for Catholic Christians and millions of people across the world that look to the pope and the Vatican for spiritual guidance. The entire Vatican complex has attracted more visitors from across the world than most tourist sites due to the riches of art and treasures which can be seen and coupled with the importance of the Vatican in the Catholic faith and history of the world.

Inside the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City One of the holiest and most beautiful chapels in the world Station 1 – the Conclave Named after Pope Sixtus IV, the Sistine Chapel is perhaps the most famous chapel in the world. It is renowned both for its function as the Papal Conclave and for its incredible artwork. The Sistine Chapel serves as the room in which the pope is elected by a College of Cardinals known as the Papal Conclave. The Cardinals are locked within the chapel until a new Pope is selected. White smoke rising from the Chapel’s chimney announces the election of a new Pope by a majority of two-thirds of the conclave, while black smoke indicates that this majority has yet been reached. The Sistine Chapel was built according to the measurements of the inner sanctum of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem as written in the Old Testament. The screen, or “transenna”, dividing the chapel is made of marble and includes a wooden door. It was moved from its original place to provide the members of the Papal Chapel more space. Station 2 – Frescoes Along the northern, eastern and southern walls, astonishing frescoes depicting biblical stories can be seen.

The northern wall includes the ‘Stories of Christ’: Baptism of Christ, Temptation of Christ, Vocation of the Apostles, The Sermon on the Mount, The Delivery of the Keys and the Last Supper. The southern wall includes the ‘Stories of Moses’: Moses Leaving to Egypt, The Trials of Moses, The Crossing of the Red Sea, Descent from Mount Sinai, Punishment of the Rebels and the Testament and Death of Moses. The eastern wall portrays the Resurrection of Christ and Disputation over Moses' Body. These beautiful paintings were created by famous artists such as Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli and Pietro Perugino who were commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to restore the Chapel. The paintings of the northern and southern wall were completed in 1482 while the paintings on the eastern wall were added later in 1572 by Hendrik Van den Broeck and Matteo da Lecce. Station 3 – Michelangelo's Frescoes The ceiling and western wall of the Sistine Chapel are adorned with some of the most celebrated paintings in the world created by the famous artist – Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling in 1508 and he completed his work in 1512. The middle section depicts 9 stories from the Book of Genesis, including the iconic ‘Creation of Adam’ where the hand of God is seen reaching to Adam to give him life. In 1535 Michelangelo was commissioned once again to paint the western wall over the altar. He completed this spectacular painting of the ‘Last Judgment’ in 1541. The painting depicts the end-of-days and second coming of Christ when according to Christian faith all souls will be judged by Jesus, the Saints and God and sent to heaven or hell. Despite being one of the most adored works of art in history, Michelangelo was originally hesitant to paint the ceiling of the chapel for he saw himself as more of a sculptor than a painter. The original ‘Last Judgment’ painting included fully nude human figures, but these were later covered by another artist due to the demands of some Papal members who claimed that the nudity was obscene and improper. Summary/Reviews: Michelangelo & the Pope's ceiling / Michelangelo & the Pope's ceiling / No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Saved in: Staff View SUMMARY In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. Four years earlier, at the age of twenty-nine, Michelangelo had unveiled his masterful statue of David in Florence; however, he had little experience as a painter, even less working in the delicate medium of fresco, and none with the curved surface of vaults, which dominated the chapel's ceiling. The temperamental Michelangelo was himself reluctant, and he stormed away from Rome, risking Julius's wrath, only to be persuaded to eventually begin. Michelangelo would spend the next four years laboring over the vast ceiling. He executed hundreds of drawings, many of which are masterpieces in their own right. Contrary to legend, he and his assistants worked standing rather than on their backs, and after his years on the scaffold, Michelangelo suffered a bizarre form of eyestrain that made it impossible for him to read letters unless he held them at arm's length.

Nonetheless, he produced one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, about which Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists, wrote, "There is no other work to compare with this for excellence, nor could there be." Ross King's fascinating new book tells the story of those four extraordinary years. Battling against ill health, financial difficulties, domestic problems, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the pope's impatience, Michelangelo created figures--depicting the Creation, the Fall, and the Flood--so beautiful that, when they were unveiled in 1512, they stunned his onlookers. Modern anatomy has yet to find names for some of the muscles on his nudes, they are painted in such detail. While he worked, Rome teemed around him, its politics and rivalries with other city-states and with France at fever pitch, often intruding on his work. From Michelangelo's experiments with the composition of pigment and plaster to his bitter competition with the famed painter Raphael, who was working on the neighboring Papal Apartments, Ross King presents a magnificent tapestry of day-to-day life on the ingenious Sistine scaffolding and outside in the upheaval of early-sixteenth-century Rome.

Review by Booklist Review Two absorbing narratives featuring larger-than-life personalities and one sumptuous catalog provide fresh insights into three pivotal phases of the forever astonishing Italian Renaissance. A celebrated novelist as well as a lively nonfiction writer, King casts fiction's spell as he tells the creation stories of crowning artistic achievements, first in the widely acclaimed Brunelleschi's Dome (2000), and now in this exciting account of the making of Michelangelo's magnificent Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes. Not only is King fluent in the complicated art of frescoing, a chancy technique sculptor Michelangelo (1475^-1564) was loathe to undertake, he also relishes the tumultuous politics of early-sixteenth-century Rome, particularly the escapades of the irascible, syphilitic, gourmand Pope Julius II, Michelangelo's demanding patron. Everyone in Rome was terrified of this stick-wielding, bearded, warrior pope except for moody, homely, antisocial Michelangelo, and King recounts their skirmishes with as much verve as he chronicles the arduous efforts involved in creating the most famous ceiling in the world.

Brilliant and tireless, Michelangelo designed an ingenious form of scaffolding and quickly mastered fresco's secrets so that he could paint his powerful, anatomically exact Old Testament figures freehand in an inspired frenzy. King chronicles Michelangelo's aesthetic decisions and clarion triumphs over myriad forms of adversity with expertise and contagious enthusiasm. Walker, a prolific young adult and adult author, became just as fascinated as King did with Filippo Brunelleschi (1377^-1446), and now offers his unique take on this world-altering genius and the engineering marvel that made him all but immortal, the dome of Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. Walker's main premise is that Brunelleschi was goaded to greatness by a long-standing feud with Lorenzo Ghiberti, who won the first of several competitions the two Florentine artists entered, that for the bronze baptistery "Paradise Doors." Walker also posits a more intimate relationship between Brunelleschi and his protege, Donatello, than is usually presumed.

As intriguing as these speculations about a possible love affair and the politically complex, ill-willed, yet artistically fruitful rivalry between Filippo and Lorenzo are, they actually pale beside Walker's ardent explication of Brunelleschi's towering achievements: "the single most important artistic breakthrough of the Renaissance: the rediscovery of linear perspective," and his cosmological vision of art and architecture "as a means to define man's place in the universe and his relationship with God." Florence, Michelangelo's beloved native city, became the capital of the Italian Renaissance thanks to the lavish arts and science patronage of the Medici dynasty. The Medici, Michelangelo, and the Art of Late Renaissance Florence, a beautifully produced volume based on a traveling exhibition, focuses on an especially fertile period, 1537^-1631, during which the Medici grand dukes--Cosimo I, his sons Francesco I and Ferdinando I, and grandson Cosimo II--supported not only the seminal Michelangelo but also artists Pontormo, Vasari, Cellini, and Giambologna.

Richly descriptive essays offer brisk but vivid portraits of the Medici and the artists they commissioned, consider the city's illustrious if politically volatile tradition of highly skilled craftsmanship, and assess the glory of Renaissance drawing, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, particularly the remarkable pietre dure, or hard stone inlays, examples of which take the reader's breath away. --Donna Seaman From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission. Review by Publisher's Weekly Review King's historical account of the four years Michelangelo Buonarroti spent frescoing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome is splendid, thorough and detailed. But its larger appeal lies in the way King (Brunelleschi's Dome) brings out the story's human elements. Listeners learn of Michelangelo's bitter disappointment when a project he was eagerly looking forward to (the construction of the Pope's tomb) was cancelled and that he had little experience with the art of fresco and was reluctant to take on the Sistine Chapel.

King explains the craft of frescoing with involving details: for example, fresco dries quickly, so the artist could work only in small sections, and if a mistake was found after the paint dried, the whole day's work had to be chipped away and redone. Listeners also learn of Michelangelo's financial woes and family problems and the political upheavals of the time. Sklar's narration is perfect for the project. His lively and expressive reading add a realistic edge to a centuries-old tale. He speaks passionately and his accent on the Italian names and phrases is flawless. Simultaneous release with the Walker hardcover (Forecasts, Dec. 9, 2002). (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Review by Library Journal Review Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling (Penguin. 2003. ISBN 9780-14-200369-5. pap. $16), Ross King's account of the four years that Michelangelo spent painting the Sistine Chapel frescoes, is a grand mix of history and biography.

Readers learn about Michelangelo's problems with health and money, his difficult patron, Pope Julius II, and his rivalry with the young Raphael. King also paints a fascinating picture of 16th-century Rome, inhabited by such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Savonarola, and Machiavelli. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. AUTHOR NOTES Born and raised in Canada, Ross King has lived in England since 1992. In 2002--03, two books of his were published in the United States, Domino , about the world of masquerades and opera in 18th century London and the New York Times bestselling Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling . Similar Items Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (article) | Khan Academy Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of Michelangelo's most famous works. Read on to learn about the history of this masterpiece.

Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome) Visiting the Chapel Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome), photo: Scott Sherrill-Mix (CC BY-NC 2.0) Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome), photo: Scott Sherrill-Mix (CC BY-NC 2.0) To any visitor of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, two features become immediately and undeniably apparent: 1) the ceiling is really high up, and 2) there are a lot of paintings up there. Because of this, the centuries have handed down to us an image of Michelangelo lying on his back, wiping sweat and plaster from his eyes as he toiled away year after year, suspended hundreds of feet in the air, begrudgingly completing a commission that he never wanted to accept in the first place. Fortunately for Michelangelo, this is probably not true.

But that does nothing to lessen the fact that the frescoes, which take up the entirety of the vault, are among the most important paintings in the world. For Pope Julius II Reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel prior to Michelangelo's frescoes (photo: public domain) Michelangelo began to work on the frescoes for Pope Julius II in 1508, replacing a blue ceiling dotted with stars. Originally, the pope asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling with a geometric ornament, and place the twelve apostles in spandrels around the decoration. Michelangelo proposed instead to paint the Old Testament scenes now found on the vault, divided by the fictive architecture that he uses to organize the composition. Diagram of the subjects of the Sistine Chapel* The subject of the frescoes The narrative begins at the altar and is divided into three sections. In the first three paintings, Michelangelo tells the story of The Creation of the Heavens and Earth; this is followed by The Creation of Adam and Eve and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden; finally is the story of Noah and the Great Flood.

Ignudi, or nude youths, sit in fictive architecture around these frescoes, and they are accompanied by prophets and sibyls (ancient seers who, according to tradition, foretold the coming of Christ) in the spandrels. In the four corners of the room, in the pendentives, one finds scenes depicting the Salvation of Israel. Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome) The Deluge Although the most famous of these frescoes is without a doubt, The Creation of Adam, reproductions of which have become ubiquitous in modern culture for its dramatic positioning of the two monumental figures reaching towards each other, not all of the frescoes are painted in this style. In fact, the first frescoes Michelangelo painted contain multiple figures, much smaller in size, engaged in complex narratives. This can best be exemplified by his painting of The Deluge.

Michelangelo, The Deluge, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome) Michelangelo, detail The Deluge, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome) In this fresco, Michelangelo has used the physical space of the water and the sky to separate four distinct parts of the narrative. On the right side of the painting, a cluster of people seeks sanctuary from the rain under a makeshift shelter. On the left, even more people climb up the side of a mountain to escape the rising water. Centrally, a small boat is about to capsize because of the unending downpour. And in the background, a team of men work on building the ark—the only hope of salvation. Up close, this painting confronts the viewer with the desperation of those about to perish in the flood and makes one question God’s justice in wiping out the entire population of the earth, save Noah and his family, because of the sins of the wicked.

Unfortunately, from the floor of the chapel, the use of small, tightly grouped figures undermines the emotional content and makes the story harder to follow. Michelangelo, Creation scenes, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, fresco, 1508-12, (Vatican City, Rome); (photo: Dennis Jarvis ) A shift in style In 1510, Michelangelo took a yearlong break from painting the Sistine Chapel. The frescoes painted after this break are characteristically different from the ones he painted before it, and are emblematic of what we think of when we envision the Sistine Chapel paintings. These are the paintings, like The Creation of Adam, where the narratives have been pared down to only the essential figures depicted on a monumental scale. Because of these changes, Michelangelo is able to convey a strong sense of emotionality that can be perceived from the floor of the chapel. Indeed, the imposing figure of God in the three frescoes illustrating the separation of darkness from light and the creation of the heavens and the earth radiates power throughout his body, and his dramatic gesticulations help to tell the story of Genesis without the addition of extraneous detail.

The Sibyls Michelangelo, Delphic Sibyl, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, fresco, 1508-12, (Vatican City, Rome) This new monumentality can also be felt in the figures of the sibyls and prophets in the spandrels surrounding the vault, which some believe are all based on the Belvedere Torso, an ancient sculpture that was then, and remains, in the Vatican’s collection. One of the most celebrated of these figures is the Delphic Sibyl (left). The overall circular composition of the body, which echoes the contours of her fictive architectural setting, adds to the sense of the sculptural weight of the figure. Her arms are powerful, the heft of her body imposing, and both her left elbow and knee come into the viewer’s space. At the same time, Michelangelo imbued the Delphic Sibyl with grace and harmony of proportion, and her watchful expression, as well as the position of the left arm and right hand, is reminiscent of the artist’s David.

Michelangelo, Libyan Sibyl, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, fresco, 1508-12, (Vatican City, Rome) The Libyan Sibyl (left) is also exemplary. Although she is in a contorted position that would be nearly impossible for an actual person to hold, Michelangelo nonetheless executes her with a sprezzatura (a deceptive ease) that will become typical of the Mannerists who closely modelled their work on his. It is no wonder that Raphael, struck by the genius of the Sistine Chapel, rushed back to his School of Athens in the Vatican Stanze and inserted Michelangelo’s weighty, monumental likeness sitting at the bottom of the steps of the school. Heraclitus, whose features are based on Michelangelo's and his seated pose is based on the prophets and sibyls from Michelangelo's frescos on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling (detail), Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-11, Stanza della Segnatura (Vatican City, Rome). Legacy Michelangelo completed the Sistine Chapel in 1512. Its importance in the history of art cannot be overstated.

It turned into a veritable academy for young painters, a position that was cemented when Michelangelo returned to the chapel twenty years later to execute the Last Judgment fresco on the altar wall. The chapel recently underwent a controversial cleaning, which has once again brought to light Michelangelo’s jewel-like palette, his mastery of chiaroscuro, and additional iconological details which continue to captivate modern viewers even five hundred years after the frescoes’ original completion. Not bad for an artist who insisted he was not a painter. Essay by Christine Zappella *The diagram neglects the subject of the four corner paintings indicated in lavendar. The four scenes represent the salvation of the Jewish people. Additional resources Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling: Ross King: Bloomsbury USA Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling Lorem About Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Despite having completed his masterful statue David four years earlier, he had little experience as a painter, even less working in the delicate medium of fresco, and none with challenging curved surfaces such as the Sistine ceiling's vaults. The temperamental Michelangelo was himself reluctant: He stormed away from Rome, incurring Julius's wrath, before he was eventually persuaded to begin. Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling recounts the fascinating story of the four extraordinary years he spent laboring over the twelve thousand square feet of the vast ceiling, while war and the power politics and personal rivalries that abounded in Rome swirled around him. A panorama of illustrious figures intersected during this time-the brilliant young painter Raphael, with whom Michelangelo formed a rivalry; the fiery preacher Girolamo Savonarola and the great Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus; a youthful Martin Luther, who made his only trip to Rome at this time and was disgusted by the corruption all around him. Ross King blends these figures into a magnificent tapestry of day-to-day life on the ingenious Sistine scaffolding and outside in the upheaval of early-sixteenth-century Italy, while also offering uncommon insight into the connection between art and history.

Reviews “Splendid, thorough and detailed.” – Publishers Weekly “This amazing book transports the listener back to Italy in the early 16th century. King is able to describe the intricacies of fresco painting while also portraying the day-to-day life of that era...Highly recommended.” – Library Journal “A legend-busting, richly detailed account of the four-year making of the Sistine Chapel frescos...Readers looking for the lite version of this tale may still want to fire up the VCR and watch Charlton Heston chew the scenery. Those seeking a richer understanding of Renaissance art-making will find this a pleasure.” – Kirkus

Question: Which Pope commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine chapel?
Answer: Julius II